Drug user warned to stay away from Hervey Bay and Bundaberg

Magistrate Deborah Vasta told former Ipswich man Paul Darren Brown - who plans to move to Hervey Bay after his release from prison - that drugs were abundant and the town was a poor choice for anyone struggling with addiction.

She warned the long-term drug user he would be surrounded by temptation.

Brown, 42, pleaded guilty on Monday in Ipswich Magistrates Court to a host of offences committed in Gladstone, where he has been working on a prawn trawler.

Between July 2015 and March this year he was found with weapons, including a billy club - a type of baton - and drug paraphernalia. He was also caught stealing a drill from Bunnings and a bottle of alcohol from Liquor Land.

He pleaded guilty to more than 20 separate charges including failing to properly dispose of needles.